https://www.ft.com/content/5122706e-39ca-4bbc-95cc-373188a9b1c9
"Four hundred years ago — on New Year’s Day in 1624 — drifting ice on the river
Lek in the Netherlands smashed up a dike outside Utrecht. This was a pretty big
problem in a country that is roughly one-third below sea level.
Soon, the region was flooded, with even Amsterdam threatened by the water. The
locals eventually managed to staunch the flood, but they still needed to do a
full, durable rebuild — which would be extremely expensive.
Fortunately, the Dutch were brilliant, sophisticated financial pioneers, and
had developed the era’s most vibrant bond market. The local water authority —
called Hoogheemraadschap Lekdijk Bovendams — swiftly sold over 50 bonds that
raised about 23,000 Carolus guilders to finance the repairs.
Of these bonds the only surviving one is a 1,200 guilder bond sold on December
10, 1624, to a wealthy woman in Amsterdam called Elsken Jorisdochter. In return
for her money, the water board promised Jorisdochter, her descendants or anyone
who owned the bearer bond 2.5 per cent interest in perpetuity.
Remarkably, this bond is still alive and pays €13.61 of interest a year.
Yesterday, the current owner — the New York Stock Exchange — collected £299.42
of owed interest for the bond’s 400th birthday, which FT Alphaville was able to
attend."
Via Esther Schindler.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
